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Rachida Semail counsels clients on the regulatory status of food packaging and food related matters in the European Union (EU) and around the globe. This includes food contact, drinking water contact, and compliance relating to enzymes, flavourings, and food additive clearances. She also counsels clients on clearance, compliance, and packaging issues relating to cosmetics, drugs, and medical devices, as well as product recalls and other related issues, including biocides in food contact materials. Rachida has also expertise on the textiles and machinery directives.
Prior to joining Keller and Heckman, Rachida practiced regulatory law at a French law firm specializing in EU and French food law where she assisted clients on various food issues, such as labeling, claims, borderline products, novel foods. During her doctorate studies, she completed an internship with the legal service of the European Commission in Brussels, where she gained a first-hand perspective of policymaking and the legislative process, while completing her doctorate thesis.
EDUCATION
• Doctor Degree in Chemistry (macromolecular science), University of Pisa, Italy
• Master Degree in Law, Michigan State University, USA
EXPERIENCE
• Current: Owner and Managing Director of the company Dario Dainelli-Policy & Regulatory Affairs, established in Brussels in 2018
• 2017-2018: Director of Quality & Regulatory Affairs in SITGROUP, Republic of San Marino
• 1999-2017: various management positions in Sealed Air Corporation, including Global Regulatory, and Regulatory Affairs Director for Asia and EMEA
• 1991-1999: W.R. Grace, Laboratory and EU Regulatory manager
Marco has been involving in safety of food contact materials for more than 20 years, which specialized in analysis and assessment of Chemical contaminants in food contact materials. He has been serving as an expert in various organizations, such as the member of Review Committee for National Food Safety Standards, The member of Standardization Committee for plastic food contact material, paper and board, etc. To date, he has published more than 60 papers on food contact materials in journals and academic conferences ,while completed 20 national safety standards and analytical methods. He is currently leading the team to draft Chinese regulations for multilayer articles, wood and bamboo, Paper and paper board, as well as various analytical methods for specific migration. He once participated in a FCMs programs In 2008 as a visiting scientist at JRC of European Commission.
Marco was also appointed as the chairman of Expert committee for FCMs in China food industry association, and the member of Scientific Committee (SC) for the 7th International Food Packaging Symposium organized by ILSI Europe , dedicated to assist government agencies and industry to manage the safety of FCMs with scientific support.
Caroline LOCRE has an engineering degree in papermaking and joined CTP in 2013 as Project Leader in the fields of surface treatments of papers and boards, barrier materials, and food contact materials.
She currently coordinates the Sherpack project and participates in several R&D projects related to surface treatment of papers and boards and development of new food contact materials with specific barriers properties. Interactions between cellulosic packaging materials and foodstuffs are one of her favoured research topics. Assessment of the compliance of (sometimes new) food contact cellulosic materials with EU regulation is also part of her activities.
Jonathan studied biochemistry and specialised in toxicology at the University of Surrey in the UK and graduated there in 2002. He joined the UK's Food Standards Agency the same year where he worked as a senior scientific officer on risk management of chemicals in food, including contaminants, pesticides and food contact materials. He represented and negotiated on behalf of the UK at EU and international level including Codex and managed several research and surveillance projects.
Jonathan joined the European Commission in 2014 and works as a policy officer in DG SANTE on food contact materials including the new initiative to revise the EU legislation. He is based in Brussels, in Belgium.
- Chemist and European Registered Toxicologiest (ERT)
- 15 years with Henkel (last position: Global Head of Regulatory Affairs)
- 5 years with Siegwerk
- Globally responsible for Food Safety, Toxicology and Packaging Regulations
-More than 15 years involved in association affairs, e.g. CEFIC, ECETOC,AISE,CEPE, and EuPIA
- Chairman of EuPIA NIAS Risk Management Task Force
Before joining TÜV Rheinland, Marco Scialpi spent more than 25 years within companies such as Nestlé, Cereal Partner Worldwide (GMI-Nestlé J.V.), Ernst & Young Consulting, Cap Gemini, Deloitte Management Solutions and Det Norske Veritas, leading in R&D and in Corporate Operation on Food Safety, Product Safety, Risk Management, Quality, Regulatory and Management system services for several product categories and specifically for Beverage systems, Packaging, Food Processing line and promotional items. Since 2019 in TÜV Rheinland is leading globally the FCM Service Division promoting a global compliance approach and his service digitalization covering Regulatory & Compliance services, testing services, training and GMP management system audits with the support of his international team of experts and 11 .
Helena Moring-Vepsäläinen is a Master of Science in forest products technology, graduated from Aalto University (Helsinki, Finland) in 2012. Her previous work history concerns various tasks in the fields of sustainability and product safety. Currently working as a Product safety manager at Metsä Board, she is responsible for managing the compliance of paperboard products. Actively developing the best practices to handle especially food contact compliance issues, she wants to enhance the paperboard industry to meet the growing sustainability and safety needs. Helena is based in Helsinki, Finland.
Sylvain Rannou holds a PhD of Polymer Science & Engineering from The University of Manchester, UK.
With over 15 years’ experience in the polymer and food packaging industry, in the UK and in Singapore, his expertise covers a range of functions and skillsets: from packaging development, polymer processing & regulatory compliance, to training & coaching, issue management and networking to leverage expertise.
Having previously worked in R&D for Mars Drinks UK and A*STAR Singapore, he spent 8 years as the Expert in Packaging Safety & Compliance (PS&C) for the Nestlé Quality Assurance Center (NQAC), covering the Asia-Oceania-Africa (AOA) zone. In September 2020, he took on a new position in the Nestlé Dairy business to support the global implementation of the PS&C program for new packaging solutions.
• Scientific Evaluator in the Food Packaging Materials and Incidental Additives Section of the Bureau of Chemical Safety at Health Canada since 2006.
• Our work includes conducting evaluation of the chemical safety of food packaging materials and Incidental Additives.
• Received a Bachelor in Science Honours Chemistry Co-operative Education Program at the University of Ottawa, Canada.
Danny Rubenstein provides strategic counseling to industry regarding regulatory compliance requirements for food packaging materials and food ingredients across the globe. As an Industrial Engineer with a background in manufacturing, Danny recognizes the importance of providing clients with timely and actionable advice regarding critical regulatory decisions that drive product innovation, marketing, and promotion. Danny leverages this experience to assist companies in proactively establishing compliance for products under the laws and regulations administered by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the European Union (EU), and jurisdictions throughout Asia and South America.
Hazel O'Keeffe counsels clients on the regulation of food-contact materials, notably in the European Union (EU), Switzerland and the United Kingdom, focusing on establishing a suitable status for all types of food-contact materials at both the EU and national level.
Hazel helps clients navigate the complexities of applying the principle of mutual recognition to facilitate the free movement of non-harmonized products throughout the EU, the European Economic Area (EEA), and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries. She advises on inter alia, EU requirements for biocides, materials in contact with drinking water, personal protective equipment, packaging waste and single-use plastics, medicinal products/European Pharmacopoeia, medical devices, cosmetics, fluorinated greenhouse gases, ozone depleting substances and recycling and green claims.
She completed an internship at the European Commission during which she specialized in relations with the European Parliament and gained first-hand experience of the workings of the EU institutions.
Hazel is a contributing author to PackagingLaw.com, as well as related industry publications, and is frequently invited to speak at international food-contact conferences.
Biography Coming Soon
Professor Ariosti is a Chemical Engineer (1981, National University of Buenos Aires) with two post-degrees: a Master on Food Science and Technology (1983, National University of Mar del Plata) and a Specialization on Plastics Conversion Technologies (2005, National University of San Martín).
He received scholarships for technical training on food packaging and other sanitary applications of plastics, at the Istituto Superiore di Sanità (Roma, Italy) (1987), the Svenska Quality Management Group (Stockholm, 1987), the Japan Packaging Institute/JICA (Tokyo, 1991), and the Iberoamerican (Latin America + Spain + Portugal) CYTED (Science and Technology for Development) Program Center (Antigua Guatemala, 2002).
He works at the National Institute of Industrial Technology (INTI) - Plastics Centre of Argentina since 1984, dealing with food packaging, materials interactions with foodstuffs, packaging and environment, and regulatory issues. He has been Deputy of the Plastics Centre (1997-2002) and also its Director (2002-2007). Now he is mainly involved with senior technical assistance and training, and with the MERCOSUR Packaging Group for the development of FCMs regulations.
Since 1991 he represents INTI at the MERCOSUR Food Packaging Group, which developed the block regulations on different food contact materials, and since 1984 at the Argentine Institute of Standardization and Certification (IRAM).
Education:
- BSc Food Industry Engineering (ITESM, Mexico).
- MSc Food Production Management (University of Nottingham, UK).
Experience:
- Currently working in Regulatory Affairs at Mars Wrigley Mexico, mainly on FDA compliance of food contact materials, including projects regarding packaging materials, such as paper, flexible films and rigid plastics. Besides, supplier’s training, in order to guarantee the fulfillment of internal standards and requirements.
Also at Mars, assuring that spicy candies, fruity confections and chewing gum, are compliant with Mexican and US Labelling Regulations.
- Worked at Mission Foods UK, in a R&D project about dough and wheat tortillas.
Professional experience in Quality and R&D at meat industries in Mexico.
Graduated in chemistry in 1989, then a Master in Environmental Sciences from 1989 to 1991. Ph.D in analytical chemistry in the field of Ecotoxicology at the Swiss Federal Polytechnic School of Lausanne.
Scientific collaborator within the Swiss Federal Polytechnic School of Lausanne during 4 years.
He joined Nestlé Research Center in June 1998, working on packaging safety and compliance.
From 2007 to 2010, he moved to Nestlé Switzerland for the implementation of the packaging safety and compliance strategy of Nestlé Group.
2011 back to Nestlé Research Center to manage a project on adhesives.
Since beginning 2014, Senior Packaging Safety & Compliance Expert for the European Zone
Synco de Vogel leads Eastman’s development of mechanical recycling for polyolefins in the European market. He has been with the company since 2019 and has worked for many years in business development of polyolefin-modified compounds in automotive and consumer applications. His experience also includes product development of polyolefin compounds, technical service, and platform management. He’s proud to have played significant roles in the global market activation of two new products for mechanical recycling at Eastman. In his current role, he integrates the fundamentals of sustainability into the hydrocarbon resin platform for innovative polyolefin packaging film structures.
He earned his master’s degree in plastics engineering at the NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences in Emmen, the Netherlands, and a master’s degree in polymer science at the Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences in Osnabrück, Germany. He lives in Neckargemünd, Germany, with his wife Diana and their two sons, Simon and Johannes. He is an avid cyclist and enjoys sailing, hiking, and traveling with his family throughout Europe.
Dr. Driffield has over 20 years’ experience in the field of analytical chemistry, providing advice and guidance on the analytical techniques used to investigate problems across a number of commodities and Industries including food, beverages, packaging and food contact materials, and fuels.
In his current role as Managing Scientist in the Chemical Regulation and Food Safety Group at Exponent, a multi-disciplinary scientific and engineering consultancy firm, Dr. Driffield specialises in technical and regulatory problem solving and assisting businesses with authorization for food and consumer products in global markets. He continues to provide advice and guidance on analytical techniques used to investigate problems, and the interpretation of information rich data sets determined by modern analytical techniques.
During his 16 years at Fera Science Ltd, he gained widespread experience in analytical methodologies used in the determination of chemical contaminants in foods and food contact materials. Dr. Driffield has extensive knowledge of non-targeted analysis techniques used for the determination of non-intentionally added substances (NIAS) gained when he was a Research Fellow at Fera. As well as a strong technical knowledge in applying analytical techniques, he has considerable experience in the interpretation of the complex data sets produced, for Industrial and Government clients, as well as global regulatory bodies.
Jan Rops is Product Manager at Crown Van Gelder BV, a Dutch specialty paper mill situated near Amsterdam. He received a Master of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from the Delft University of Technology, studied at QMU London and did a post-graduation project at the University of Barcelona. Jan has worked for Akzo Nobel, Saint Gobain Isover, Tetra Pak and Crown Van Gelder. In 2004 at Crown van Gelder he developed their first HSI inkjet paper. Since 2014 Jan re-joined Crown Van Gelder as product manager for Crown Letsgo High Speed Inkjet paper and he specialized in sustainable inkjet book printing. In 2019 he started his search for alternative paper fibers with low environmental foot print. In February 2021 Crown van Gelder launched ‘Crown Native’, a strong, food safe, eco-friendly paper made with sugar beet fibers coming from the remaining at the end of the sugar production process of Cosun Beet Company, the Dutch cooperative of 9.000 sugar beet growers.
Dr. Sabine Vogt studied chemistry at the Johannes Gutenberg-University in Mainz, Germany. Research for her PhD Thesis was done at the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research and in December 1993 she awarded her PhD. Dr. Sabine Vogt joined BASF AG in April 1994. She was working in the research for polymers and was later responsible for the communication “plastics and the environment”. Since the beginning of 2000 she was member of the expert team for plastics safety and regulatory affairs with respect to all BASF plastics in sensitive consumer applications. In April 2016, she became a member of the respective Team for Dispersions and Resins in BASF. Her special focus is on dispersions and additives for paper and paper board as well as for adhesives including Food Contact and Sustainability.
Anna Papagrigoraki is the Sustainability Director at Cepi, the European Confederation of Paper Industries, since 2019. Prior to Cepi, Anna held positions in PlasticsEurope where she was part of the Advocacy team and CEFS, the EU Sugar Manufacturers Association as an Environment & Agricultural Advisor. She has experience in environmental policy topics ranging from industrial emissions and circular economy to climate change and life-cycle-assessment. Anna has Masters in Civil Engineering (2009) and MSc in Environmental Monitoring and Assessment (2010) from the University of Southampton.
Dr. LaShonda T. Cureton is a Lead Chemist in the Office of Food Additive Safety at the Food and Drug Administration. In this role, she is responsible for the review of pre- and post-market submissions for food contact substances as well as developing comprehensive summaries detailing scientific and regulatory recommendations and conclusions. Dr. Cureton also reviews requests for the use of post-industrial and post-consumer recycled polymers in producing food-contact articles. Dr. Cureton serves as a scientific advisory member on the US Delegation for the Codex Committee on Food Additives. Dr. Cureton also is listed on the expert roster of the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives.
Dr. Cureton has worked on several post-market review projects, most notably a project on phthalate alternatives, which was published in Food Chemical Toxicology or Food Additives and Contaminants. Much of her post-market review work have been presented at national conferences, FDA symposiums and industry sponsored meetings.
Dr. Cureton earned her Doctor of Philosophy degree in polymer organic chemistry from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry from Clemson University.
Dr. Jessica Cooper assists clients by guiding them through regulatory policy in the food additives and food contact substances space. Prior to joining Steptoe, Jessica served at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as the Lead Chemist & Master Reviewer, where she provided leadership, strategic direction, and ensured consistency of regulatory policy regarding food additives and food contact substances in FDA's Office of Food Additive Safety (OFAS). She led OFAS in providing technical input, advice, and recommendations on migration testing protocols and dietary exposure assessments. Jessica was also the chemistry subject matter expert on perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and nanomaterials used in food packaging.
Dr. Barry Podd gained a BA (Hons) and a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Essex. Post Doctoral Research Fellow for three years at the University of Surrey.
He spent 34 years in Industry in various positions in Research and Development, Marketing, Sales and the Regulatory Affairs Departments and in the Consumer Products Industry as Associate Director Global Regulatory Affairs responsible for regulatory management issues related to chemicals, biocides and food contact around the world before retiring in 2013.
Before retiring, Barry was active in a number of Trade Associations, including CEFIC, EDANA and the European Tissue Symposium, where he either chaired and/or participated in a large number of working groups.
Lisa M Madsen, PhD has been with Pall Corporation for 23 years in a number of roles from field technical service, microbiology laboratory manager, product manager and regulatory affairs. Lisa moved from the corporate office in Port Washington, New York to Pall Europe, Ltd in Portsmouth in 2018 to focus on food contact compliance for filtration technologies used in global food and beverage applications.
Kevin is co-founder and owner of Decernis and is an experienced regulatory attorney who has worked and consulted for 20+ years in the food and consumer products space. He advises some of the world’s largest manufacturers on Food, Food Contact and Supply Chain Compliance challenges globally. Working with a team of native speaker experts in all major markets, Kevin has led a Decernis team effort to expand regulatory coverage to over 200 countries. He spends much of the year meeting with clients to identify and satisfy their needs across the Decernis global client base. Kevin builds cooperative and partnering relationships with governmental agencies and organizations (today 40+ countries across five continents, including US FDA, European Union, Canada, China and Japan).
An expert on food contact and food additive regulation globally, Kevin is a frequent speaker at international conferences and an active participant in the Regulatory Affairs Committees of food, cosmetic and consumer product associations. Kevin also attends the Codex Alimentarius Committee on Food Additives in China annually as a member of the International Food Additives Council.
Prior to founding Decernis, Kevin worked as a regulatory attorney and later VP, International Operations at Ariel Research, which managed product safety regulations globally for chemical manufacturers.
Dr Marinella Vitulli (51) is the owner and the technical director of Food Contact Center srl.
She has worked in the field of analytical services for 20 years and added expertise in the field of food safety during this time. After obtaining her PhD in Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Technology from the Pisa University, Dr Vitulli worked as Researcher in Pisa University, dealing with food and pharmaceutical chemistry.
She took over the position of Quality Control and R&D Manager at Drogheria e Alimentari S.p.A. in 2005, and was in charge as Laboratory Manager in the Intertek Italian Lab, between 2008 and 2010. As Laboratory Director at ECOLSTUDIO spa, Dr Vitulli was responsible for the development and management of the testing capabilities for food, environmental and consumer products.
In her next position she was Laboratory Manager in pH Lab, a member of TÜV SÜD, coordinating the laboratory activity and developing technical services and testing on food, food contact, consumer products and environmental samples.
Dr Marinella Vitulli belongs to the professional association of Chemists “Albo dei Chimici”. Since 2009 she belongs to the Professional Association AIBO - Food Contact Expert” (matr n°035). She cooperates with Italian Packaging Institute taking part in technical committee, and having speech in trainings and many national and international events.
Päivi Harju-Eloranta has a Master’s degree in Chemistry. She has worked in Stora Enso more than 30 years in various positions. Päivi has wide experience in product and packaging development, technical marketing, sustainability and product safety. Current responsibility as a Director, Product Safety, means involvement in food safety, compliance topics and regulatory affairs
Joe Dages helps clients successfully navigate the complex US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulatory requirements that apply to food, food additives, and food contact materials. He advises companies on all aspects of the premarket review requirements and pathways to market for these materials, as well as post-market compliance, Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs), labeling, marketing, risk, and litigation avoidance issues. In addition, he provides advice to clients seeking to establish the compliance of their products in other jurisdictions, including Canada, the European Union, and South America.
Alistair manages the Food Packaging Safety Section within Smithers. This involves advising clients on the safety legislation which applies to food packaging in a wide range of different countries throughout the world and coordinating work programmes to ensure that clients' products meet these requirements. His expertise spans all the EU countries, USA, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Israel, Russia and all the South American countries.
Alistair graduated with a degree and PhD in Chemistry from Birmingham University. After working for BP and the Department of Health, he joined Smithers in 1994, taking up his current position in 1995.
